It’s an unforgettable scene in the 1987 film Wall Street: Gordon Gekko walks along the beach during sunrise as he conducts business via mobile phone – a large, clunky, antiquated mobile phone that would now be easier to find at a museum than a consumer electronics retailer.

But the “bigger is better” model is returning to the industry this year (at least in terms of screen size), according to published reports Friday ahead of next week’s start to CES 2013.

According to Niel Hughes of Apple Insider, “big-screen ‘phablet’ devices, positioned between a smartphone and a tablet, are predicted to be a big trend at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show.”

The latest talk centers around Huawei raising the curtain on the Ascend Mate, which will deliver a 6.1-inch screen. 5-inch phones are also expected from LG and ZTE.

Brian White of Topeka Capital Markets couldn’t have put it any better. CES 2013, he says, will feature “embarrassingly large” smartphones. And the trend may very well spread to Apple before the next-generation iPhone is released.

“We believe Apple will offer customers more screen sizes with the next iPhone and a display as large as 5 inches is not out of the question, in our view,” White told investors on Friday.

Are you of the mindset that bigger is better for screens on smartphones that we still want to be light as a feature and generally small enough to conveniently have at hand at all times?